The Man with two Faces
by Professor Squirrel
Summary: Everyone is hated by someone. But Quirinius, it seemed, was hated from birth by almost everyone. This goes into Quirrell's past, and shows the abuse he suffered to make him desperate enough for attention, that he'd be willing to let Voldemort live inside him.
1. Mirana's Story

Thanks to AthdaraM at .com for BETAing this!

Characters:

Mirana Quirrell- Quirinius Quirrell's mother

Sorrell: Mirana's boyfriend

Mirana Quirrell was everything a parent could ask for in a daughter. She was quiet, obedient, a Slytherin 6th year, and was well on her way to becoming Head Girl. She was good looking, with dark brown hair, and blue eyes. She was a pureblood, and came from a rich family. Needless to say, she had already caught the attention of many boys at Hogwarts, all of which were crushed when she chose between them.

Looking at Sorrell Cornfoot, it was easy to see why Mirana fell for him. Sorrell, a seventh year Slytherin, was Head Boy, was charming, and knew exactly what he wanted. With him, like Mirana, being from a wealthy pureblood family, their parents were thrilled to hear of their engagement.

Yes, Mirana had the best life she could have been dealt. That is, except for one little knick in her otherwise flawless design- she, like most teenagers, rebelled against her parents, but she did it quietly enough that nobody knew about it. That rebellious action that she harbored was an interest in muggles. This interest was sparked in her first Muggle Studies lesson. She loved the class so much, that she was planning on taking the job when old professor Berk retired. Although, she wasn't quiet sure how to tell Sorrell and her parents this. She figured she would just lie and say that she would be teaching her students about how muggles reeked of onions and body oder.

But her interest did not stop in the classroom. She would often meet in secret with muggle-born students (or, mudbloods, as her parents called them), and question them about what their lives were like outside of Hogwarts. When their information stopped being satisfying enough, that's when she started sneaking out at nights during Summer and Winter break, to go visit the London streets, and see the Muggles in their natural habitat. It was no big deal, and she had plans of stopping this behavior as soon as she was married. But things that seem like they are small deals, sometimes have a way of making themselves into big deals.

Mirana woke-up early one morning, before the sunrise. She was in a dark alley, completely naked, with her coat and dress torn, lying next across the alley from her, bruises starting to swell all over her body, and the icy winter air biting at her tender skin. Darting over as quickly as she could (which wasn't very quick, with every nerve in her legs screaming), she dressed herself as best as she could. Every button had been ripped off the front of her dress, so she used her coat to cover herself. As tears began running freely down her cheeks, she quickly started her way back home, and recounted the events of that night as well as she could. She remembered telling her parents that she would be staying over with a friend. She remembered going down to the London streets , and then, a less friendly memory: a man jumping out of the same dark alley that she had awoke in. He had thrown her down, hitting her while he had his way with her, eventually knocking her out, and leaving her for dead.

Her parents, like most purebloods, despised muggles. They also kept the stance that one should save oneself until marriage. So to have their only child ruined by a muggle, they would surely throw her out of the house. And Sorrell... he had the same beliefs that they did. Would he return her to them? His own fiancée, ruined by a muggle... No. She would stay in her own house until she married Sorrell. She would simply force the memory into the back of her mind, and it would be another secret that she was keeping. She returned to Hogwarts, and attended the Valentine's Hogsmeade trip about a month after her return.

"Mirana, The Three Broomsticks' supply of butterbeer isn't running dry anytime soon," Sorrell commented, as he watched his girlfriend down the seventh mug of butterbeer, the sweet nectar that she had been wanting for the past few weeks. Mirana looked down at her now empty mug, licking the froth off of her lips. "I'm f-fine, Sorrell." Even though she was doing a good job at hiding her newest secret, the stress had caused her to pick up her old nervous habit of stuttering.

"Are you certain? You've been going through butterbeer like it's going out of style. Not to mention this idiotic stut..." Sorrell was interrupted by Mirana slamming her mug down.

"Sorrell, I said I'm fine."

Sorrell threw his hands up in the air. "Alright, alright. You're fine."

The next morning, in the Great Hall, Mirana was having breakfast with Sorrell, and a group of their friends. The little group included a sixth year slytherin and her fifth year sister, Bellatrix and Andromeda Black, and a first year named Lucius Malfoy. All of the sudden, out of the window the owls swooped in to deliver the mail, making the students duck, and cover their scrambled eggs. Mirana's heart started racing as soon as she saw a black and white owl, holding a pink envelope- her mother's. Cecilia, her mother, barely ever wrote, but when she did, Mirana treasured it. Mirana caught the letter just before it found its way onto her bacon, and began reading it. However, although the letter was just like it always was, Mirana immediately started sobbing uncontrollably, sending Bellatrix and Andromeda over to her side, trying to comfort their friend.

"Mirana, what on Earth did the letter say?" Sorrell snatched the letter from her hand, not waiting for an answer from the blubbering girl.

"Well, what is it?!" yelled Bellatrix, loudly enough to earn a few more stares from other students.

"It's nothing." Sorrell pressed his brows together. "Just good wishes, and a 'we're proud of you.'"

Hearing the last part, Mirana went into hysterics again. "If they knew what you did, they wouldn't be," her mind kept telling itself.

"Sorrell, I think your little girlfriend's best off in the loony bin," grinned Lucius, as he bit into a biscuit."

"Now, now, Mr. Malfoy," said a gentle voice from above them, belonging to the school's Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. "I'm sure that whatever it is, it can be resolved over tea and doughnuts. Ms. Quirrell, I'm sure that with the state that you're in, you won't mind having someone to talk to."

Mirana instantly understood that he was not asking her, and followed him to his office.


	2. Dumbledore's office

"Have a seat, dear," Dumbledore ordered, walking off to the other side of the room to retrieve the tea set and some funny looking round food. Mirana looked around the strange office. It was a wonder, she thought, that Dumbledore could get any work down, what with every headmaster preceding him posted up on the walls, chatting to one another.

"Funny thing, doughnuts," Dumbledore said, as he sat down, and filled both cups with tea. "A seventh year, Arthur Weasley, introduced me to them. All they are are just dough and sugar, covered with a glaze, but they are the most delectable things I've ever tasted. If only I could figure out where the hole missing from the middle went off to... the Dark Lord hates muggles. Says that they're imbeciles. But I'm sure that if he would try one of their inventions, a doughnut, perhaps, he might not think that way. Maybe he would find that muggles are actually quite intelligent."

Mirana shook her head furiously. "They're monsters, and deserve to be treated as such."

Dumbledore looked over his cup at her, his deep, intense eyes thinking.

"I see. I find that to be an odd statement, coming from you. Just a few months ago, professor Berk was telling me about how interested you were in muggles, and that you had mentioned to him in passing about taking his position once he retired. But, come to think of it, he did mention later on that you seem disgruntled as soon as you walk into his room, and you seem to be taking less interest in the subject of Muggle Studies." Mirana's eyes dropped, focusing on her doughnut. She knew where the conversation was going, and she wasn't sure if she was strong enough to keep her secret any longer.

Dumbledore looked over his desk at her, and said, with sincerity dripping from every word, "Mirana, please, tell me what's wrong."

Mirana's lip trembled, and, in a teary mess, told him everything. She couldn't keep such a horrifying story to herself. She told him about her secret interest in muggles, and sneaking out of her parents's house at night to explore the muggle world. She told him about the man who had attacked her, how he hit and berated her while having his way with her, and how she was then left for dead.

After she calmed down, she looked back up at Dumbledore, who was staring at nothing in particular, and sadly nodding at it. He walked over to her, offering a hand to help her up. "Normally, Ms. Quirrell, I would contact your parents first, but with you having kept this a secret for the past few months, I think it would be best if you visited the hospital wing right away. Just for your health's sake."

* * *

It was all Dumbledore could do to let the young girl sob on his shoulder as he sat next to her on her hospital cot.

"My life is over," she quietly got out, in between sobs.

"Oh, now now," Dumbledore told her, searching for the right words, "Pregnancy is a start of a new life. Yes, your old life is being left behind, but it's so that you can start a new one, starring you and your baby."

Mirana looked at him with big, wet eyes. "S-sir, you d-d-don't understand. My parents will be beyond furious. Not only am I having a b-b-baby, but it's a half-blood!"

Again, Dumbledore was left searching for words. He had been at Hogwarts since the late 1930's, and had had Mirana's parents before her. They seemed like perfectly fine children when they were with those of their own kind, but anyone who held less than a pureblood status was subject to at least one of their cruel jokes. One time, Mirana's mother, Cecilia, cast a spell so powerful on a first year muggle-born that a plant sprouted out of his left ear, and didn't stop growing until it was long enough that a bird could rest on it. But most children are obnoxious, and most tend to grow out of it.

"Funny thing about babies, Ms, Quirrell, is that they can sometimes bring even the most separate of families together."


	3. A Bad Reaction

Romulus Quirrell stomped around Dumbledore's office, while his wife, Cecilia, sat in a chair in front of Dumbldedore's desk, sobbing hard, and refusing to look at or even touch her daughter. Yes, they had grown out of casting spells at blood-traitors, bet their emotional damage that they were doing to their already fragile daughter was worse, in a way.

Romulus looked absolutely insane. His already thin lips were stretched into a forced grin, and his dark brown eyes bulging out slightly. All of this, combined with the facts that he was holding a canteen of firewhiskey, and licking his lips furiously made him look like someone who came straight from the loony bin. Any fool could see that he was furious. The very thought of it, respectable pureblood Death Eaters such as his wife and himself, having a daughter that brought another half-blood into existence was unbearable for him. If Dumbledore wasn't in the room with them, Romulus would have easily smacked Mirana across her face.

Dumbldedore was stunned at how Romulus and Cecilia were treating such a delicate situation. It was obvious that they had changed very little since their time at Hogwarts. This wasn't at all what he hoped for, even for such horrible children as the now Mr. and Mrs. Quirrell were. He had at least expected them to be angry with her attacker, but they were barely paying him any attention, as they yelled at their daughter, who was simply staring down at her lap, and keeping a hand on her lower stomach. Dumbledore liked to think that by doing this, she was trying to protect her baby from the wrath of his or her grandparents.

"Thousands of years..." Romulus said in a hoarse laugh. "Thousands of years keeping our family's blood clean...all gone to waste. "

Cecilia stopped crying long enough to chastise her daughter. "Mirana, you selfish bitch! You filthy blood-traitor! How could you do this to us?!"

Mirana stayed in her position, and spoke in a whisper. "Mum, it wasn't my fault. I was raped. The man grabbed me. I tried to fight him off, but I wasn't strong enough."

"MIRANA, YOU TWIT, YOU SNUCK OUT TO BE AROUND MU-"

"No, no, Cecilia, Mirana's right," Romulus interjected, taking a swig of his firewhiskey.

Cecilia flashed him an insane stare. "Please, Romulus, tell me why it isn't her fault."

"It's her headmaster's fault."

Dumbledore looked up at him. He had been wondering how far into the conversation they would be before he was blamed. "My fault, Romulus? Please, share with us your reasoning."

"Oh, you know exactly what I mean, Albus," Romulus replied in a harsh whisper, sticking his face just inches away from Dumbledore's. "You support that Muggle Studies class. You forced Cecilia and me to sit through that blasted class when we were students. You remember, don't you Cecilia? That blasted class that spread lies about how 'great muggles are.' It's your fault, Albus, that our name's been ruined, you old dolt!"

Dumbledore glared back at Romulus, refusing to give into him, and show any kind of anger. "Our Muggle Studies professor teaches his students nothing but facts, Romulus. And I'm sorry to say this, but if your main goals for your daughter were for her to have pureblood children, and to spread hatred, you've failed miserably as parents." He took a few moments to draw a slow breath, and calm down. "Every wizarding family, no matter how clean their blood may seem, has interacted with muggles. One day, you and your wife will have to realize that your grandchild is half muggle. Now, I think you've overstayed your welcome. Come, and I'll show you both the door." But as he was leading them out, Cecilia turned to her daughter.

"That will NEVER be my grandchild," she said coldly. "You are no longer part of the honorable family."

"Mum!"

"Don't 'mum' me! You and your filthy half-blood parasite will stay away from us!"

"ENOUGH!" roared Dumbledore, pushing them both out, and slamming the door shut behind them. "Such wonderful people," he muttered, sarcastically. "Normally, Ms, Quirrell, I would allow you to stay and chat, but you look disturbed enough, and stress is not a healthy emotion for an expectant mother. I suggest you stay the night in the hospital wing."


	4. Of Bullies and Baby Showers

**Author's note: Don't worry, Leia is actually Quirrell. I just thought it would be fun for Mirana not to know.**

* * *

"But Sorrell, I.."

"No! Keep yourself and that filthy half-blood of yours away from me!" Sorrell stormed away, looking angry enough to see red. Mirana sunk down, her face in her hands. With Sorrell's hatred of not only half-bloods, but anyone close to him who did anything that could potentially put his reputation under fire, he was sure to tell everyone. Mirana looked down at her belly. Hatred dripped from her voice as freely as her tears fell down her cheeks. "You won't even be born for seven more months, and you're already ruining my life."

"Such a pity," Lucius told the others as Mirana walked by their table that day at lunch. "An entire family's good reputation... ruined. All because some muggle-lover couldn't keep her legs closed." Bellatrix and Sorrell chortled in agreement, while Andromeda kept her head down low. Mirana had once caught her writing a love letter to a gryiffindor named Ted Tonks, who was muggle-born. If Bellatrix found out, she would surely tell their parents.

Mirana hoped that as her baby started to show, the bullying might stop, but her hopes were quickly crushed. Every slytherin had shunned her away, forcing her to sit at the end of their table, all by herself. Lucius kept up with his snide comments, or, as her stomach started swelling, making pig noises as she walked past him. Sorrell had already done his damage, and would sometimes come up with a lie to spread about her, if his Sunday morning was too dull. "I think that she planned on getting pregnant so that she could have as much butterbeer as she pleases," she once overheard him tell another seventh year. Bellatrix, on the other hand, seemed to be on a mission to kill the child. She would trip Mirana as she was walking to her seat in potions, or shove her into a wall as they were walking to class. She was either trying to cause Mirana to have a miscarriage, or was just expressing her hatred toward muggle-lovers. It was sometimes hard to tell with Bellatrix. Andromeda, on the other hand, kept her distance, or just flashed a supportive smile to Mirana.

Mirana had often thought of putting her want to her head, and killing both herself and the baby, but she met two gryffindor sisters, Millie and Penny Spink, who quickly adopted her into their little group. They both had summer jobs as housekeepers at St. Mungo's, and were going to work in the Materinity Ward when they graduated that year, so they knew every little detail about the baby before Mirana even knew, and would tell her every nitty-gritty detail. They had decided to throw a baby shower for her after school let out, and needed to know whether to have pink or blue decorations. "Your baby's sexual organs have finished developing, so please let us know when you find out the gender."

"How did Millie say that without grimacing?" Mirana wondered to herself. She simply forced back a shudder, and said, "I don't know, and I don't care."

Penny's eyebrows jumped up. "How do you not care?" Mirana shrugged.

Millie waved it off. "You'll find out when he or she is born. Now, according to the old witch's tales, you're carrying right in the middle, so you could be having... either."

Penny giggled. "It looks as though you stuck a ball up your shirt!"

"Ugh, I wish it felt like that." Nobody had bothered to tell Mirana about pregnancy. All these aches and pains, and those annoying little kicks and punches that would keep her up at night... Mirana could not stand this baby.

"Well, you said that early on, you were craving sweet things, like butterbeer, right?" Millie stopped, and pondered for a bit. "So that would mean that you're having a girl!"

Mirana grinned a little. A girl would be easier to raise. She would have the same growing pains as Mirana did.

Excitement glowed on Penny's face. "Do you have any names in mind?"

Mirana bit her lip, thinking. "I used to have a doll that I named Leia, so I've always been partial to that. It's Hawaiian for flower."

* * *

The shower went well. It was held outdoors in the middle June, with pink covering everything. Penny even went the extra mile, and picked pink wildflowers, to match Leia's name. Because Mirana had such a small group of friends, not many people showered up, but what they gave her was much needed. She got a huge stuffed hippogriff named Hillary Hippogriff and some dresses from Penny and Millie, and a crib with a pack of diapers from the Spink parents (who had graciously let Mirana stay in their house when she left Hogwarts). When Dumbledore arrived, he gave her great news.

"While I was in Honeydukes buying some chocolate frogs, I ran into an old student, who's the owner of the store. Your name came up, and she felt so badly for you that she told me to tell you that she's offering you a job there."

Mirana couldn't believe her ears. "A job, sir?"

"Yes. And I took the liberty of putting the down payment on a house for you. It's just outside of Diagon Alley. It's not very big, just large enough for the two of you. And there's a garden for your little one to play in. Oh! Speaking of playing..." He then pulled out a little stuffed three headed dog that had blue ears and spots, and rattled when you shook it.

"Thank-you, sir, but... blue? For a girl?"

Dumbledore gave her a little smile, and patted her stomach. "I've always been partial to the name Quirinus. It's a good, strong boy's name. During my Hogwarts years, my owl was named Quirinus."

Mirana hoped with all of her heart that he didn't know what he was talking about.

* * *

Mirana relaxed against the couch, late August after work. Leia had grown so much that others could see Mirana's stomach move when Leia moved. Millie and Penny stopped by after work, and were playing little games with Leia by pressing lightly on Mirana's belly, and then giggling as a little hand or foot would come along to push them off. "She's trying to give us high-fives!" Penny exclaimed.

"Mirana, I'm worried about you. You can't work at Honeyduke's, AND take care of a baby."

Penny laughed. "And even if you wear Leia in a sling, she might make things a bit harder to manage."

Mirana pressed on her stomach to wake Leia up again. "I know. Just a few days ago, my belly knocked down a case of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and it shattered! I honestly don't know what to do."

Millie's eyes grew large. "You could take little Leia over to our house! We'll be at work, but our mother will be staying at home while everyone's else gone. She loves babies!"

Mirana smiled a bit. "That would be lovely, thank-you."

Now that that was over, Millie and Penny went back to cooing over the baby. "So, are you excited?"

"Not really. I don't know how much longer I can take this. All of this swelling, not being able to bend down, or even sleep right at night! And her favorite spot to sleep is right on my bladder," Mirana said, as she poked at Leia again.

Millie and Penny looked at each other, their smiles falling. "Well, I'm sure that you'll change you mind when you hold that adorable little baby!"

Mirana didn't love Leia. If she hadn't been concieved, Mirana could have kept her secret, went on living at her parent's house, and married Sorrell. But instead, Leia became her scarlet letter. While her former friends got to go live their dreams, explore the world, or simply finish their seventh years, she was stuck working, keeping a house, and taking care of a baby. She had never even held a baby, let alon fed or changed one. And the Quirrells had always kept a house elves, so Mirana didn't know how to cook, or clean a house. She was alone, scared, and angry. But being afraid of losing her last two friends, she just smiled. "Perhaps."


	5. Quirinus Slatero Quirrell

It was September 26th when Mirana went into labor while at work. Mrs. Avery, her boss, recognized the signs of labor from her won deliveries, and told her that she could hold down the store on her own. "Just apparate to St. Mungo's as quickly as possible!"

Looking back at the past nine months, Mirana had no idea why she whined so much about the little aches and pains she was going through- she would have took that over this.

It was Millie's day off, but she readily agreed to stay with Mirana. Penny, on the other hand, was behind Mirana's legs, excitedly assisting with the birth. Mirana screamed, clutching hand onto Millie's hand.

Penny jerked her head up. Even though her mouth was hidden behind a mask, Mirana could tell that she was grinning from ear to ear. "It's a boy!" she yelled. Had she been a second too late in sharing the news, nobody would have heard her. There came a small wail, loud and high enough that Mirana thought that any werewolves in the close vicinity would howl back at him.

It's a boy. Those three words that Mirana had feared hearing. She had no husband, nobody to teach her, or help her understand him. How could she relate to him?

Penny came over and plopped a pink little baby down on her stomach. She watched him grab and kick at his new world, and then yell in desperation as his hands and feet hit nothing but the air. His face was squashed and swollen, making him resemble a bald pug. And was that blood covering him? Nasty.

Penny whisked him away, and a nurse asked Mirana for his name. Mirana hadn't gave much thought to boy's names, and quickly dug one up. "Q-Q-Quirinus. Quirinus Slatero." Yes. Quirinus Slatero Quirrell seemed to fit him perfectly.

Millie grinned at her. "Slatero?"

"My father's middle name."

Penny came back with a blue bundle, and smiled at Quirinus before handing him back to his mother. "He's gorgeous, Mirana."

Mirana took her little boy. Millie had taught her how to hold babies. "Head on your inner elbow, and hand on his back," she told herself. He opened his big, blue eyes, looked at his mother, and went back to sleep. He wasn't as ugly as he was when he was crying. The way that he totally depended on her actually made Mirana feel good- like she was needed and loved by another family member again.

Dumbledore sat in the chair beside Mirana's bed, holding Quirinus, and grimaced slightly as the finger that Quirinus had previously been grasping went into his mouth.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, when will I be able to tell if he's a wizard or not?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Patience, Ms. Quirrell, patience. He's not even an hour old. Let's let him figure out how to hold his head up first, shall we?" He saw the impatient look on Mirana's face. "There is no set age, but I've found that most children develop their abilities around the age of seven years old. That's around the time that they've learned how to channel their anger." Quirinus spat Dumbledore's finger out, and started whimpering. But before anything could happen, Dumbledore had him calmed back down. Mirana stared at him.

"How did you do that? He almost never shuts up when I'm holding him."

Dumbledore shrugged. "Maybe you aren't at peace. Babies can pick up on our stress, even if we can't. Although, I can't sat that I blame you for being stressed out." There was a moment of silence between the three before Dumbledore finally spoke again. "So, a boy? Seems like I heard a man give you hints at what "Leia" actually was."

Mirana grinned. "Yeah, I remember that, too. It was the same old coot that put the name Quirinus in my mind.

"Quirinus Slatero Quirrell. Male. Eight pounds, two ounces. Born on September 26th, 1967 at exactly 6:46 p.m to Mirana Victoria Quirrell at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Congratulations on your new addition!" rang Penny's voice. The blue envelope folded itself up again, and floated down to the floor of Romulus Quirrell's study.

Romulus repressed a smile. He looked down at the picture of a baby that came with the envelope. He sat down on his bed, and cried.

A grandson. He had a little grandson.


	6. Birius the Troll

Quirinus stumbled around the pond one summer, looking for something new to explore, or for a sign that his only friend was there. His only friend was a troll that had been abandoned at birth. Quirinus found him one day as he was playing in the woods, just four years prior. The big, helpless oaf struck a sensitive nerve in Quirinus, and so he took the baby in as his own. He brought him spare blankets, made him loincloths, picked fresh fruits from the forest trees, brought him water from the pond, and hunted wild animals for him. He wasn't very good at hunting - he was squeamish, and the blood made him vomit at first, but Birius (the name that he gave the troll) needed him. And he didn't have to sneak food out of his own home, where food was precious. Quirinus was more than happy to sacrifice his free time for the troll. This was his biggest secret that he had ever kept - if anyone found out, Birius would be killed. And Birius genuinely loved his "daddy"- a relationship that Quirinus couldn't afford to lose.

It wasn't that Quirinus didn't know other children - he just didn't get along with them. He was too quiet. But there was a boy and a girl, Severus Snape and Lily Evans, that used to play "house" with him when he was little. Lily was always the mother, Sev (who didn't like the game, and didn't seem to care for Quirinus - just Lily) was the father, and Quirinus was the baby - a role that he was never happy about. But Lily and Sev were much older than him, and grew out of playing games.

Trolls grow fast, so Birius was full-grown by the time he was two, and joined a neighboring tribe of trolls. Because Quirinus was the only living being that Birius had been exposed to, he had a hard time speaking the troll language. He now spent most of his time with the other trolls, learning from them, and made a few friends. But Quirinus was special to him. So Birius met Quirinus in a quiet part of the forest behind Quirinus's house everyday. Quirinus, like any good parental figure, wanted Birius to fit in with his own kind. So while he met Birius everyday he tried his best to learn the troll's language, and spoke to Birius only in that.

Quirinus shifted himself to make the tree branch that he was sitting on more comfortable. "You know what, Birius? You and I have a lot in common. I don't really fit in with the other people in my town. And my mum didn't abandon me, but she doesn't seem to like me much." Quirinus sat in silence, tossing around an apple that he had plucked from a tree. "Birius, I'm afraid that I've got some bad news."

Birius' eyes widened in fear. Quirinus never had anything but fun stories from the human world. Anything bad from him must be terrible.

"I start a new school in a few weeks, and won't be back until Christmas time. No, no, Birius, please don't cry! I'll always love you!"

Birius' lip did not stop quivering, and giant tears threatened to run down his cheeks.

"No no, Birius, please don't cry! I promise, I'll still see you! Just not as often. I'll come back for visits during Christmas break, and summer. But I need to do this! I'll be learning how to be a wizard!" Quirinus looked at the sun. "I'd be best off, Birius. Mother will be home soon, and she doesn't want me out here. Not with the war going on." Quirinus scrambled down the tree, and ran out of the forest, leaving Birius all by himself.

* * *

Quirinus got home just 10 minutes before his mother did. He was out of breath, but thankful that he got back in time. Once, he arrived after his mum did, and she figured out where he was. It resulted in a beating, and the bruising on his arm didn't go down for a few days. Mirana did not like leaving him home alone. But she needed as much money as she could get from her Honeyduke's job, and Mrs. Spink went back to work when her husband was injured. So Quirinus spent the morning at the Spinks, went home around lunchtime, and then Mirana returned for dinnertime. So Mirana let him have the house to himself, as long as he stayed in. "I don't want you accidentally running into You-Know-Who, or his Death Eaters," she told him. But Quirinus figured that Birius could easily fend off any Death Eaters. And what his mum didn't know, wouldn't kill her.

Quirinus watched as Mirana spooned a serving of peas onto his plate. "Mum, what's it like, Hogwarts?"

"Well, it's very big, beautiful, and old. And there are four houses- Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff. You'll be sorted into one by the Sorting Hat."

"Which one were you in?"

"Slytherin."

"Did you like it there?"

Mirana paused. She had never told him about her last year at Hogwarts. "I-it was fun." Until she got pregnant. "I liked the classes. It's where I met Aunt Penny, and Aunt Millie." She stopped to take a bite of her food. "We need to go out tomorrow to shop for your school supplies."

Quirinus grimaced as he took the last bite of his food. He hated shopping. It was a girl's pastime. "Alright, mum. May I please be excused?"

Mirana let him go, and she watched him scurry off to his room. He was almost 12, and going off to Hogwarts. It seemed too soon for her. He was growing too fast. Mirana was worried for her son. Not just the Death Eaters, but that he might not want to come back home to her. She knew that she was not the mother that he deserved. She was working long hours at Honeyduke's, and then headed straight home to make dinner, and make sure that Quirinus was off to bed. All of her stress sometimes unloaded on him. But he was healthy (although a little underweight), and was very polite. "I obviously did something right," she thought to himself.

Quirinus followed his mother, weaving between people that were twice his size. They passed the Owl Emporium.

"Wow, the owls are gorgeous, mum! May I have one?"

"No, Quirinus. We don't have the money."

"But what if I need to write to you when I'm at school?"

"Then just use the school's owl, princess. Now, sit right on that bench by the Emporium. I need to run a special errand in the store next door. Do not move a muscle."

Quirinus plopped onto the bench, sulking as his mum walked off. He looked back up at the owls.

* * *

Romulus Quirrell was walking down Diagon Alley. His marriage had not been going well, and he escaped daily down to Diagon Alley for a walk. As he was approaching the Owl Emporium, his heart skipped a beat. There sat a boy who looked extraordinary like his Mirana. Romulus slowly approached him, and sat on the bench next to him. "Excuse me, what's your name, son?"

Quirinus, a shy boy, took his time to answer. "Q-Quirinus."

Romulus could barely contain his excitement. "Quirrell?"

Quirinus looked Romulus over. "Do I know you?"

"No, I'm sorry, Quirinus. You looked like you belonged to that family. Looking closer, Romulus could finally get a good look at Quirinus. He did look extraordinarily like Mirana, but had a few small details that could have only come from his unknown father. His eyebrows weren't arched, his ears were pressed back, and he had blond highlights in his dark brown hair, where Mirana had carmel. "Where's your mother?"

Quirinus looked over at the store next door. "I think that she's buying my birthday present."

"A birthday? How old will you be?"

"I'll be 12 on September 26th."

"Well well well, 12 is a big birthday. How would you like to own one of those owls that you keep glancing at?"

Quirinus's face lit up. "Are you sure?!"

"Son, I'm from a rich family. And a man only turns 12 once in his life." Romulus went into the Emporium, and came back out a minute later with a brown owl in a cage. Quirinus couldn't believe his luck, even as the stranger handed him his present. He knew not to take gifts from strangers, but this man seemed to know him, and his present was too good to pass up. "Thanks, mister! She's beautiful!"

"I'm glad that you think so, son. Now, will you be attending Hogwarts this year?"

Quirinus nodded, his eyes glued on his new pet.

"Quirinus Slatero Quirrell!" Mirana was running towards them, stuffing a small package into her pocket. "Where did you get that owl?"

Quirinus looked up at Romulus. "That man gave her to me."

Mirana looked over at him, having not noticed her father standing there. Her anger was quickly replaced by bafflement. "Well, that was nice off him, but you shouldn't be taking gifts from strangers."

"But mum, he knew what my last name was!"

Romulus piped up. "Forgive me, Ms. Quirrell, the boy told me that he had a birthday coming up."


End file.
